Relapse
by RiddleMeThis17
Summary: Due to some twist of fate, the Master escapes the Time War. What he did not intend to encounter was the Universe collapsing on itself. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds out who Madame Kovarian really is, and the true reason why the Silence tried to kill him. (Doctor/Master. Past Rani/Doctor)
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold morning, he thought, turning into an alley. Not too cold, but still cold. He was tired, but he definitely wasn't weak. The stranger walked down the alley, blood – not necessarily his – soaked and covered his clothes. He shuddered, stopping and leaning against a cold brick wall as he coughed out regeneration energy. He breathed heavily. He was still unstable, his skeletal frame flickering every so often, making him look like an alien from outer space.

Well, he was an alien, although if his skeleton hadn't been flashing, his eyes making them look so disturbing, no one would've noticed he wasn't from Earth.  
There was a sudden clatter as something knocked over a trash can. He flinched, instinctively raising a hand, feeling the electricity bolts build up in his palm, but it seemed to be nothing threatening.

He didn't entirely know why he'd survived after killing Rassilon and getting sucked back into the Time Lock with the rest of the Time Lords. The first moment they'd returned, it was war between them and the Daleks. So, cowardly, he hid. And waited. By the time he'd deemed it long enough, the Time Lords and Daleks had killed most of the other side.

He'd sought out the rest of the surviving Time Lords- he didn't remember most of the confrontation, but words were exchanged, lives were taken and transferred into life energy for him- and frankly, he felt no remorse.

Almost.

He sighed, pushing himself off the wall and continuing until he exited the alley. The town was rather small, the sun barely peaking out from behind some building that looked like a nursing home.

He sighed again. Lowering his hands completely, twisting his body experimentally. Nothing was broken, it was just his luck that he'd run into some humans after regenerating while escaping the Time Lock. Fear fuelled them. Humans were smart in weaponry- not so much in strategy, though. They emptied their guns quick enough, not that any of the bullets caused him harm. His regeneration ensured that.

He glanced at his hands curiously. They looked about the same, he had to find a mirror though. He ran a hand through his hair. How did he end up there? He'd encountered the humans in a large city- not a tiny, sleepy and boring town.

It was too quiet, though. Much too quiet.

As he stumbled away from the stores, entering a neighbourhood, he closed his eyes, focusing on his heartbeat, a pale imitation of the sounds that had fled him so long ago.

He opened his eyes, watching a couple come out of a house and stare at him. It was odd, the sun had barely risen, but he assumed that they had just spotted him by chance. They stepped from the porch and gave him concerned looks. Energy crackled around his fingers. Were they pitying him? Worried for him? He was a Time Lord, he was stronger, more powerful than any one of them.

The energy must've been visible, even from a distance, as the couple immediately dove into an incoherent conversation. He casually strolled onto their side of the street, watching their shifty eyes with a smirk.

As he passed them, the ginger woman shouted, "Hey, you!" He stopped, but doesn't turn around. "You're covered in blood." Obviously.

He pivoted, smirking at them. "Am I?" He asked calmly as he felt his form flicker. He was becoming unstable, not having 'eaten' any life force in hours. The two jumped back, eyes wide with shock.

"Perception filter?" He heard the big-nosed one whisper to the ginger.

"I don't know." She admitted, staring at him in surprise.

He entertained the thought of them being companions of the Doctor. Oh Theta. He'd never admit it, but while Theta always chose the most dense companions, at least they were knowledgeable to a certain extent. Oh look, an oxymoron right there.

"No, not a perception filter. A failed resurrection, I'd call it." Well, it wasn't failed- it just didn't work the way he wished it did. They obviously knew that he wasn't human. Ugh, how could he even think of being human? He was a Time Lord, and one of the last.

"Who are you?" The big-nosed one asked, his other hand clutching the ginger's.

He tilted his head, wondering what to answer. "

"Kie Rastemosch." He answers. Anagrams, again, of Master Koschei. A bit of present, a bit of past.

They look at him, obviously unconvinced.

"Do you know the Doctor?"

The girl smirks.

"And how do I know you're not one of his enemies? You're obviously using a perception filter of some kind, going by your brief phase there." He shrugs, feeling his form flicker again.

"Keen, aren't you?" He chuckles. "He just chooses them oddly." He comments, more to himself then anyone else. "I suppose you'll just have to trust me. I'm not saying anything until he arrives."

The girl crosses her arms, striding up to him, looking at him in the eye.

Thank the universe for regeneration. Harold Saxon walking around in a small neighbourhood would've inflicted mass-havoc. He never did find out what the public thought of his and Winters disappearance.

She opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly a bright light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, his vision going white.

"Rory!" She shrieked, the Master breathing in and out slowly, closing his eyes.

"Amy, what's going on?!" Rory demanded, his voice sounding pained. "What is- what is- what-"

He felt the Earth- no- the universe shake. Suddenly, he knew exactly what had happened.

Someone had changed a fixed point in time.

The universe was collapsing.

His last thoughts before passing out was, 'What the hell did he do now?'

**I've posted and re-posted this story. So, now, I give up, I'll post it up again.**

**~RiddleMeThis17**


	2. Chapter 2

It's a very odd sensation, to wake up wrapped in blankets when you were formerly soaked in blood in torn clothes.

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the harsh sunlight that filtered in from a divide in the curtains. Sitting up, he turned slowly, his eyes widening as he saw a face he thought he'd never see again.

"Lucy?" He whispered, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Lucy had killed him, killed herself while trying to stop his resurrection. He didn't know what to think of the woman now. As Harold Saxon, she was alright to be with. Not exceptionally bright, but so, so easy to manipulate. She had been like a puppy, so eager to please and be praised and showered with love.

His apparent wife's eyes fluttered open, a smile spreading across her face. "Harry," she whispered, a hand reaching for him. He allowed her to tenderly kiss him, before pulling away slowly.

"Sorry, busy day today," he fibbed, doing something he usually never did, improvising.

If Lucy noticed anything, she didn't call on it. She pushing herself up, swinging her legs over the bed. He mirrored her, pulling a bathrobe from the closet and darting into the washroom.

His reflection stared back at him. Short, blond hair that stuck up slightly, pale skin, and grey-green eyes. Normal sized nose, average sized chin, regular ears.

A bit boring. He certainly wasn't like his previous incarnation, not one bit. He still chose Harold Saxon as a name though.

He suddenly realised he wasn't very hungry like he usually was, nor was his figure phasing. He was fine, as if he had never gone through the failed resurrection.

"Well," he said to his reflection. "That's an improvement."

His signet ring glinted on his hand, and he grinned, before suddenly realising what he'd just gone through.

Someone, most likely the Doctor, altered a fixed point. Rassilon knew what was happening right now. The universe was definitely collapsing, he could feel it, but it would take time. The universe was vast, it'd take a few days, a week maximum, for the universe to completely destroy itself and cease to exist.

He quickly showered, darting back into the room, where Lucy had left, for some clothes. After cleaning himself up, he headed down the stairs.

The house was a manor, not one he knew of, but a manor nonetheless. Ornate carvings on the railing off the spiralling stairs, the entire house seemed to emanate a warm and golden glow. Gold was embossed on plaques and portraits hung up against the walls, leading to the kitchen and dining room.

He smiled at the smell of a maid serving breakfast. He entered the lounge, Lucy sitting on a couch, watching the news.

He blinked. All of history was happening at once apparently. The Prime Minister Winston Churchill arriving back via mammoth?

Whatever the Doctor did, he better have had a good reason to; otherwise, he might just kill him- again.

His eyes caught the hands of a clock and a nearby calendar.

Two past five in the afternoon, on the 22nd of April, 2011.

He glanced out a window. The sun had barely risen.

Altering a fixed point... He altered the fixed point, exactly on that day on that minute. Yet no one questioned it, because the universe was being destroyed, and to those who weren't Time Lords, it had always been two past five in the afternoon since the beginning of their race.

"Harry, is there something wrong?" Lucy asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind. He pushed down his anger. It wouldn't do him any good to show his true insanity. He slowly turned, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead.

"No, no, everything is fine." He lied, letting go of her and sitting on the couch. Lucy had been on the Valiant... That didn't make her an anomaly of Time, however.

Memories filtered into his head. He was the Minister of Defence, he didn't create the Archangel Network though. He didn't run for Prime Minister, or have any ideas other than staying as Minister of Defence. He married Lucy two years ago, and since then they'd been living together in his manor. He had no surviving relatives.

It was as though he was completely human. As if he had never been the Master, or Koschei. He'd been born Harold Saxon.

He instinctively touched the side of his throat. No, he was still a Time Lord. Four heartbeats, faint echoes of the drums.

He didn't know whether to be glad that they were gone, however, it was disconcerting not to have the four beats drumming in his head every second, and yet, he felt calmer. It was like he had been carrying a weight on his shoulders for a long time, and suddenly it was gone. It was odd.

Oh right, there was a meeting today. It was odd how the world kept time, given that it was always two past four.

A meeting with the Prime Minister... But where was the Doctor?

Break

He'd grown a beard again, the Doctor realised, instinctively trying to feel his beard. A chinking sound and a searing pain in his wrists stopped him.

Handcuffs, he grinned, then frowned. River Song had refused to kill him, she'd changed a fixed point.

He closed his eyes, feeling information hit him.

He was the soothsayer of the Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Pterodactyls flew around the world, cars flying in the air with the help of hot-air balloons, mammoths being used as replacements for cars of the wealthy and powerful. His frown deepened. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, the War of the Roses entering its second year.

Dear Rassilon, all of history was happening at once.

And yet, it was always April 22nd, two minutes past five, in the year 2011. It was always that date, and it never changed, but no one questioned it.

Not unless they knew what was really going on.

He breathed out a quiet sigh, before suddenly jerking to the side, his cuffs digging into his wrists and ankles. His eyes flew open.

There was something different. Something important. He calmed himself, and closed his eyes again. Evening his breath, he mentally extended his senses.

It was like seeing, except his eyes were closed. Everything was dark, but as he progressed through the rooms, kind of walking through the walls, green lights barely resembling people fluttered into the darkness, illuminating only their spot.

He continued on, passing a few tiny blue dots, signifying animals, most likely rats.

He bit his lip as he "entered" a large room, several green figures apparently sitting around a table.

They were green, except for one. A red figure.

He would've widened his eyes if his eyes were open. He neared the figure, walking around it, going through several other green lights.

The figure shifted, placing a hand on the table, fingers tapping out a rhythm.

Tap tap tap tap.

The Doctor's shock grew.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Even if a fixed point was altered, it couldn't affect anything or place in a Time Lock. Nothing could affect it until the universe was over.

Or collapsed, either way, nothing on there would be affected by anything outside unless the universe it occupied 'died'.

He opened his eyes, finding himself back in the cell with a single torch light illuminating it.

"How is the Master here?" He whispered in disbelief, before a sudden feeling of happiness filled him. He wasn't alone!

Unless the Master again decided to throw up some universe-dominating plan...

**~RiddleMeThis17-has-also-posted-this-on-ArchiveOfOurOwn**


	3. Chapter 3

When he woke up in Amy's train-office, he noticed something distinctively wrong. There was another voice in his head, just a tiny whisper, barely audible, but still there. Two voices, actually. One feminine and the other being the Master's.

He was awake, and awfully confused. The Master was definitely here, but who was the other voice?

_TheDoctoriscominghe'llknowhattodo_

_whatisyourrealnameMadameKova rianalias_

_obviouslynotrealwhoareyouyou willtellme_

_nevernevernevernevernevernev ernever_

He winced at the cacophony of voices. Alright, so the mystery Time Lady was Madame Kovarian, but who-

He froze, no, it couldn't be. Of all the people... His mind went into overdrive. Anagrams... Always with the anagrams.

It fit perfectly.

Amy coughed to get his attention. The Doctor realised he'd been staring at a wall. He spun around to face her, plastering a cheery smile on. "So, why are we going to Cairo?"

She merely grinned, as the train stopped. "Just come with me, you won't want to miss this. Captain Williams? With me, please!" He covered a chuckle at Amy's oblivion. No, he shouldn't laugh, he'd lost his own memory several times, mostly during his eighth incarnation, he knew how frustrating it was, knowing you were forgetting something but being unable to remember.

They disembarked, ending up in a darkened corridor, a dim blue light glowing from another end.

Rory handed him a black eyepatch, feeling not fabric, but more like a smooth and silky metal. "Why do you all wear those eyepatches?" he asked, examining it.

"It's not an eyepatch," Amy insisted.

"It's a eye-drive, sir." Rory explained. "Connects directly with the memory centres of the brain."

"The only thing that works against them," Amy said, as they entered a room full of Silence, held in glass chambers with some kind of fluid.

"Put that on, and you'll remember them," Rory finished.

He stared at the eyepatch, before sighing and pressing it against his eye. He flinched as he felt the eye drive connecting with his mind.

At the same time, two other minds flinched and connected with his own, just for a second, before withdrawing. He breathed in deeply, finally noticing the Silence raising their hands through the fluid, as if about to reach out and strangle him.

"They noticed you," Rory sounded a bit worried. The Doctor bit his lip. He'd made his conclusion.

"I think I know who's behind this," Amy and Rory looked genuinely surprised. He swallowed. "And I think I know why." Ignoring Amy and Rory, he headed down the hallway, flinging open the doors.

The room was rather large, computers everywhere, looking very out of place in an Egyptian pyramid. He briefly noticed River, but he strode over to the woman tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

"I should have known." He said bitterly. The woman smirked, a similar eye drive over her right eye.

"But you didn't. Not until now." She said smugly. "You know why you must die, Doctor. But you didn't. And now time is disintegrating, so long as you are alive."

Amy and Rory caught up to him. "Doctor?" Amy queried.

"Madame Kovarian. Kovarian, an anagram for Avok Rani. Ushas Avok. Later known as the Rani." He explained. "Video calls don't prove the mind link. I didn't recognise you at first, but he's here too. It wouldn't be the first time you've teamed up against me."

The Rani scoffed as Amy and Rory looked bewildered by the amount of information. River, would understood most of it, whispered that it was impossible, as a nearby assistant told her that time was looping longer just by the Doctor's very prescence.

"Contrary to what you may believe, dear Doctor," the Doctor's hand tightened into a fist. "He has nothing to do with this. He's here completely by accident. You could say that it was just fate that brought you two together, again."

"Sorry, I'm lost. You know her? Who's 'he'?" Amy interrupted, her eyes full of confusion.

He stepped around, twirling in a circle. "The Rani, known as Ushas Avok, one of my classmates on Gallifrey, she's my former best friend, ex-wife, and drinking friend. Well, she was."

"Ex-wife?" River didn't look jealous, merely amused, yet disturbed that she had been raised by her husband's ex-wife.

"It was marrying this idiot, or marrying a stupid politician." The Rani said scathingly. "But, obviously, he'd rather get married to-"

"Anyway," the Doctor cut her off. "I have to die, and thanks to you, River Song, I didn't." Although he didn't want to show it, he was rather ticked off at her for not killing him.

"Humans, Doctor. Even part-Time Lord anomalies are still human. Makes you miss travelling with Susan and the Lady President, doesn't it?" The Rani looked thoroughly amused by this.

"Susan's living her own life, and Romana's better off without me." The Doctor shot back. "I know why I have to die, but why now?"

The Rani sighed, looking exasperated. "You're twelve hundred and sixty-seven years old right now, don't even deny it." The Doctor _pouted_ and crossed his arms. "I know, our time lines are linear right now, we're the same age." The Doctor rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Amy shot him a look. "After this, you break."

The Doctor's nonchalant demeanor disappeared. Amy looked shocked, while Rory quickly headed off to check on something. River looked solemn.

The Doctor blinked and gave a cold glance to the woman. "Of course, you can't tell me." It wasn't a question, they'd cause a bigger paradox than the one occurring now if she told him.

"I can't. But you'll turn into _him_, my Lord Doctor, you'll destroy the Universe. Don't think of me as such an enemy, Doctor," she said, as the Doctor looked as though he wanted to kill her on the spot. "I'm just doing what you do, saving the Universe." The Rani didn't seem very happy about it, but she appeared to have resigned herself to that fate.

"I'll become- I'll become _him_?" The Doctor sputtered. Time could be rewritten, but only certain points. He had no idea if _that_ incarnation was a fixed point. "But- I'd never-"

The Rani gave a grim smile. "Oh, that what you always thought. Did you ever wonder what we saw in the Untempered Schism?"

The Doctor reeled physically. What a Time Child saw in the gap of time and space was Never To Be Talked About. "Rani-"

"We saw you." She admitted. The Doctor's hearts plunged. Amy gave him a quizzical glance. "You were laughing. Laughing as planets burned around you, laughing as children cried, laughing as so many pleaded you to stop-"

"Shut up!" River cut her off. "Just stop," she said, her voice filled with anger. Amy's eye was wide.

The Doctor closed his eyes. Amy moved to comfort him, but he held up a hand to stop her, even though he couldn't see her.

_FindDoctorWhereWhyWhoTime_

_DyingWhoSomeoneImpossibleNo_

"He's here." His eyes shot open. "Why is he here?"

"Who's here?" Amy asked. The Rani smiled grimly.

The Doctor began to reply, but whatever he was going to say was drowned out by screams, and those in the room suddenly realised that water was dripping through the ceiling. Rory ran in, blocking the doorway and priming his gun.

"The Silence are free! Arm yourselves!" He shouted. All of the people in the room, save for the Rani, the Doctor, Amy and River immediately grabbed the nearest weapon, aiming it at the doorway.

"The Silence were never trapped," The Rani said, seeming very calm. "But Doctor, your time is coming." He stared at her as the others began panicking as the door rattled, suddenly being distracted by one of the women screaming as her eye drive electrocuted her. River and several other personnel rushed to her as she fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry." She was genuinely sorry, and the Doctor knew so. The Time War changed them all, but the Rani seemed the only one who benefited from it. "I couldn't stop it."

"She's dead!" River shouted, although the Doctor paid her no heed, only ripping off his eye drive and throwing it away, where it sparked against the ground before burning itself out. His posture changed, suddenly angry.

"I'll stop it Rani, mark my words, I will." He shouted, ignoring the rest of the room as others began screaming.

"You can't!"

"Watch me!"

"Silence must fall when the question is asked!" The Rani insisted. "You cannot change it!" The Rani said, looking very serious now. "Doctor, I do not want to kill you either, but it's or the Universe."

He calmed down, closing his eyes. "I won't happen," his voice was much softer now, but just as certain. "I won't let it happen."

The Rani looked frustrated. "You don't understand! It will happen! It must happen! It is a fixed point Doctor, you couldn't change it! You must die!"

"Fixed points can be rewritten!"

"And look where that got you! The Flood on Mars? You remember that, don't you?" The Doctor was shocked. "I know you, future you, just before it happens. Listen to me Doctor, you can't control Time, even as Time's champion!"

"How do you know all that? That was between him and myself!" The Rani scoffed, but didn't explain.

"Doctor, we have to go!" Amy shouted, prying the eye drive off her daughter's face, before screaming as her own began to spark.

The Doctor only stared at the Rani as Amy's screams grew louder, River trying to pull off the eye drive.

"You're not even helping her," the Rani hissed. "Isn't that how the Valeyard was?"

He stiffened. "Don't you dare, Rani. Please, don't. She'll be fine," he insisted, a cry of relief from Amy acknowledging his words.

"Doctor," River grabbed his arm. "We need to leave." He didn't move. "Now, Doctor!" She futilely tried to pull him away, but he didn't move.

The Rani's gaze was filled with regret. "We shall meet again, my Lord Doctor." She smiled. "Reminds you a lot of Melanie, doesn't it? Next time we meet, I'll be powerless to help you. And I'm sorry."

With a shimmer of light, the Rani disappeared.

"Doctor!"

He ran, dragging River with him, just as the door flew off its hinges, and Silence barged in.

Break

He clenched his eyes shut as a spark of pain flew into his mind.

"Mister Saxon?" One of the business men asked him. "Are you alright, sir?"

He nodded slowly, the pain fading away. "Sorry, just a headache. I'll be fine."

The man nodded, looking uncertain, but not willing to make a fuss about it.

He seemed to be rather respected there, as much as he had been during his time as Harold Saxon. Although his rather eccentric and 'joyful' nature seemed commonplace for them, they were concerned over him, for some reason.

"This meeting is terminated, I'll see you all next week." The various men and women in business suits stood up, gathering their folders and dossiers and filing out of the room.

He rubbed his temples. The Doctor was here, but where exactly? He could've sworn he'd felt him, his annoying but powerful aura drifting around him. Only the Doctor could enter a room and make himself seem like a lost puppy.

Quickly, he closed his binder and left, immediately heading for the staircase. He couldn't stand being around them, seeming all important and being so blind not to realise how time never moved.

He practically ran down the staircase, getting far enough that anyone following his route wouldn't accidentally meet up with him. He pressed his forehead against the cold white wall, closing his eyes.

_Find me. Find me. Find me. Doctor. Find me. Find me. Find me. Please._

In any other situation, he never would've pleaded for the Doctor like that. However, this was something new, something different, something dangerous.

Besides, it'd be nice for him to just be Koschei again.

Break

He tripped up the staircase as words echoed through his mind, River barely catching him by the back of his suit. He cursed. While it had been an accident, if she's touched him, they'd short out the time differential, time would begin and he'd die.

But that wasn't the issue. The Master had contacted him. He sounded... sane. He closed his eyes, River's words barely reaching him as he leaned stabilised himself against the wall. The staircase was very narrow, the steps almost like accidents waiting to happen.

"I'm not a fool, sweetie, I know what happens if we touch." River said, obviously assuming he did it on purpose. He opened his eyes as Amy and Rory ran up after them, hand in hand. He grinned, Amy found her Centurion once again.

"Listen, we can save everything, time is dying and if you don't-"

"I'll be at a lakeside, killing you," River cut him off, looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

He breathed in, trying to calm himself. Humans and their emotions- He stopped, no, no, no. Humans were just more emotional than Time Lords, they could do so much with their compassion.

"River, you have to. Time. Is. Dying. Do you understand?" He was getting impatient, and he had to find him, he had to find the Master. He was alive and he couldn't let him die after finding him.

"I won't!" River shouted, sounding like a petulant child.

"You must, or we're all going to die." He insisted.

River shot him a look and ran up the rest of the stairs. He groaned and followed her, after shooting the Ponds a look of exasperation.

"It's a distress beacon," she explained the odd device in front of them. "We've been sending out messages, 'cause outside of this bubble, time is still moving, the Universe is still alive. We're sending it to all the past and the future, telling them, "The Doctor is dying, please help".

He flinched harder, closing his eyes. All of the past and all of the future.

The Doctor is dying, please help.

Doctor who?

The first question in the Universe, the oldest question.

"River, why must you be like this?" He opened his eyes, giving River an annoyed look. "The Rani did not say everything I did. I know what I will do, I saw what I'll do, I have to die, River. 'Cause whatever was supposed to happen after this will happen if I don't."

"I don't want to kill you!"

"Well if don't, then I will!" He roared.

Everyone went silent. Rory looked very confused. Amy appeared to be hurt and angry at the same time, whereas River's expression was unreadable.

"Doctor-"

"Amy, shut up." He snapped. She did, and he breathed in and out, slowly. "If you're not going to kill me, then I'll have to."

"Doctor- Don't you dare," River warned, her eyes wide and suddenly fearful.

"Then kill me." He said. "Kill me and this will all be over. You'll return to where you were before this, Time will begin again."

"And you'll be dead!"

"It's a price to be paid."

River's face broke. "You know I can't!" Tears streamed down her face. "Please, Doctor!"

"Then you leave me no choice." He stared at her, almost as if he wanted to glare a hole into her. River's eyes went out of focus, and she slowly moved towards him, a hand stretched out to touch him. She looked like a zombie, like the Empty Child without the gas mask.

"River, no!" Amy screamed, Rory holding her back. "Let go! Stop it, Doctor! Doctor!"

He refused to meet her gaze, not just for fear of losing the hypnotic link, but also out of shame. Amy's words seemed more like screams. It hurt him, it hurt him so much.

Why did he continue to travel with humans? "Their lives are so fleeting," the Krillitane Mr. Finch had said. He had been right. The only thing that he got from them was pain.

"One may tolerate a world full of demons for the sake of an angel," Reinette had said. He had to continue, if he didn't, he'd fall so far and rise up worse than ever.

Or had he done that already?

He finally turned to look at Amy, as River drew nearer. Her body was shaking, obviously trying to fight him. Rory looked conflicted, finally letting Amy go. Amy lunged towards him, but River had already touched him, her hand around his arm, shuddering as her mind was overtaken by his own.

He closed his eyes, as time began to move again.

Break

The Doctor was flung back as River shot him, slowly getting back to his feet as his regeneration began. However, it was swiftly cut off as River shot at him once more, tears streaming down her face. He flew back onto the sand, unmoving.

Inside the Tesselecta, the Doctor collapsed out of the captain seat, breathing hard as the artificial gravity kept them from landing into a wall.

"I'll- be- fine," he breathed. "Mind control is hard, even worse when you're not actually there."

The crew members looked at him in amazement and shock.

"Don't worry. She knows now. I told her so." He grinned, before falling unconscious.

Break

"Hello? Excuse me, are you alright?" A sharp Scottish voice asked, the voice clearing away the fog in his mind.

The Master opened his eyes, cringing at the bright sunlight that shone down on him. The sunlight was blocked as a face peered down at him, red hair tickling him.

He coughed and sat up, regretting it immediately as his head spun, his vision flickering into darkness before a firm, but gentle hand pushed him back down onto what he assumed was a sofa.

"Who are you? What are you?" A male asked. The man leaned over him.

Big nose... Red hair...

Memories sprung back, the fog dissipating immediately. Time was dying, the Doctor must have fixed it.

"Hello," he greeted, smiling. "Where am I?" He ignored their questions, sitting up slowly this time. He looked at himself. He was still covered in blood. "I'd say thank you, but something tells me you wouldn't appreciate it anyway." He suddenly turned his head to the ginger. "Where's the Doctor?"

The girl swallowed, her eyes glistening with tears at the mention of the other Time Lord. "He- He's dead."

The words hit him harder than any remark from the deceased Time Lord ever did.

He shook his head, blocking out the pounding beat of his hearts, focusing on voices. Different voices, not the ones from the drums, but the ones from other Time Lords.

His eyes widened. No, not just Time Lords. Not just the Doctor. Time _Ladies_ as well.

"Why would the Rani be here?" He asked no one. The name elicited a sharp response from the girl however. She grabbed his hand in a vice grip.

"Who is she?" He didn't answer. She knew who the Rani was. It ironic, very ironic. The last of the children of Gallifrey were former friends, lovers and spouses. The ginger saw that he wasn't going to answer. She tightened her grip, amidst the big-nosed one's attempts to stop her. "She stole my daughter and raised her to be a weapon. She's alive now, and she's safe, but I'll never see my baby ever again."

He raised his head, giving her an incredulous look. "You humans... Of all the things you apes have, it'd be emotions." The girl's grip tightened, and he instinctively blocked the nerve signals from there as she dug her nails in. He laughed. "He may have travelled with many humans and possibly changed their view on the Universe, however every good deed comes with a punishment. They all left him, in the end." He stared at her eyes, a light hazel. "Even you'll leave him one day... If you haven't already. He's not a good person to be around."

Hazel eyes widened, and a strong slap sent his head pounding again. The slap stung, his vision blurring, his head throbbing with the sound of the drums.

No, no, not the drums, just his hearts.

"So who were you to them? You know the Rani, you know the Doctor. And you've fought in the Time War." The furious red-head deduced, the man holding her back in case she decided to land another hit on the Time Lord.

The pain faded. "I know them better than any other living being in the entire Universe." He adopted a childish grin.

"Then tell us." It wasn't necessarily a demand, but not a weak request either. His eyes shifted to the male.

"Why do you care for him so much?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Inside your mind, you know that Amy," the ginger gave a start at his recognition of her name, whereas the man didn't look surprised, "loves you. Yet you remember being afraid of losing her to her Raggedy Doctor. Lovely nickname, Raggedy Doctor..." His eyes moved to Amy's.

"He crashed into your garden, your saviour from the scary cracks in time and space. He regenerated then... Wonder why, he doesn't look that different from before-"

Amy shut her eyes, and he lost the connection.

"You're smart, he always does go for the smart ones. And the red heads." He recalled the Donna woman, the half-Time Lord, half-human metacrisis. "He always did love Earth girls. Well, Leela and Romana were some of the exceptions. And Susan, oh, darling Susan." He smirked, his mind wandering off the topic.

"How do you do that? Is it some sort of Time Lord trick or something?" Rory refused to meet the Master's eyes, hugging Amy tightly, who's eyes were still closed. She was visibly shaking, the Master noted.

"All Time Lords could do this, however, it takes millenniums of practice." He explained. He stood up, forcing his body to cooperate. "If you'll excuse me, I have an idiot to track down."

Almost as if on cue, the familliar sound of a TARDIS materalising sounded from outside. Amy froze.

"That's impossible! He died!" Amy cried, breaking from Rory's embrace and making a dash for the door, which, the Master noted, was ironically TARDIS blue, or something like it.

Amy flung open the door, staring into the eyes of the Doctor. Amy engulfed him in a hug, sobbing openly into his shoulder before suddenly stepping back and giving the Doctor the same slap, if not harder, that she gave the Master minutes prior.

"You're alive," Rory said blankly, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself.

The Doctor, this strange man with a large chin, practically invisible eyebrows, and child-like features. He was very young, barely looking about three hundred in Earth years.

"Of course I live! I always live!" He said, rubbing his cheek and wincing. "Although, not very sure about the greeting there."

"But- But how?" Amy asked, stepping back as the Doctor entered and shut the door.

The newly reunited Trio of All That is Good seemed to have forgotten him, or at least the humans did.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was multi-tasking.

_So, you did survive._

_No, I just faked being at a political meeting that you eavesdropped on._

_Don't get sarcastic with me, Master._

_I still love it when you say my name._

_You're not helping._

_Since when do I ever?_

"Doctor?" Amy snapped her fingers in front of the Doctor's face. He blinked.

"Oh yeah, right... Found the Tesselecta, Doctor inside a robot Doctor, went to Lake Silencio like that, River failed to kill me, I spent over three hours in that robot, it was nice, not as nice as the TARDIS, obviously, but alright. I got her to touch me-"

"You mean, you hypnotised her to touch you," Amy corrected bitterly. Her happiness turned into anger. "You have no idea how much it killed her to do that to you! To kill the one you love-"

"The Doctor killed his own family. He killed his children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren. There was only one who survived, and the Doctor refuses to see her after the War." The Master interrupted, idly leaning against a wall.

"Don't start," The Doctor's voice became mournful.

The Master raised an eyebrow. "She did mention you, before she stole my TARDIS." At the news that his grand-daughter possessed a TARDIS, the Doctor stumbled back into the door. "She misses you. Well, more than she missed me. Then again, I tried to kill her."

The other Time Lord's appeared to be angry at the thought of his best enemy trying to kill his grand-daughter, but he turned sullen. "I did see her though, in my eight incarnation. Before..."

Silence reigned, the Master turned to the bewildered humans. "What you experienced is nothing compared to what we have. Don't whine and sulk. Rassilon's idiocy, humans are difficult." He raised an eyebrow towards the Doctor. "How do you cope with them?"

"How did you cope with Ailla, _Koschei_?" The Doctor knew he'd probably gone too far there. Ailla had been the Master's first companion, supposedly human, but in reality a Time Lady sent by the CIA (No, not the Earth one, the Celestial Interference Agency, a Gallifreyan organisation that focused solely on breaking the non-interference law) to keep tabs on the Master, then known as Koschei. Ailla died, and Koschei destroyed an entire planet to avenge her death. However, it was revealed that she'd regenerated, wearing a ring that hid her mind from the other Time Lords. Koschei had been devastated, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Master's eyes hardened. "Don't you ever mention her, _Theta_," he glared. "She wasn't human."

"She pretended to be, and you believed her. It wasn't the last time though." The Doctor kept his eyes on the Master's. "Ponds, would you mind leaving for a moment?" He asked, his voice changing drastically from the cold, dark voice the Pond-Williams had heard often when he was talking to an alien villain or when he was beyond normal personality.

Amy and Rory shared a glance and made their way to the living room, shutting the door.

"And don't try to eavesdrop! The TARDIS doesn't translate this language," the Master shouted through the door. Feet sheepishly shuffled away.

The Doctor and the Master locked eyes once more. Slowly, the Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out a sonic-something. Screwdriver?

"That looks a lot like my laser screwdriver," the Master commented idly as the Doctor sound-proofed the room, never once breaking eye contact. His voice changed audibly, although it still sounded normal to them. An ancient language that no human could ever speak or imitate.

"I regenerated because of you," the Doctor said quietly, his words sounding musical to a non-Gallifreyan. "Wilfred Mott, Donna's grandfather was still trapped in that monitoring room."

"The radiation went critical," the Master guessed. "You just had to save him, didn't you? After you gave a long monologue on humans and how utterly stupid but 'brilliant' they were. Gotten too attached to your last body, I suppose?"

If the Doctor was surprised by the Master's spot on guess, he didn't show it. "You know me too well."

The Master smirked. "We grew up together, Doctor. It's only natural that two childhood friends know each other inside and out. Even through different bodies."

"Master..." the Doctor sighed. "What are you going to do? Keep me prisoner? Rule over the world, and then the Universe? Try to kill Amy and Rory? You better not, 'cause if you do, I'll have to stop you."

The Master finished his statement. "Again." He shook his head. "No, Doctor." He looked surprised. "We're too old for this... We're young for our people, but we've seen too much. You could say," he grinned grimly, "That I'm retiring."

The Doctor blinked, and the Master's grin widened at his confusion. It was always funny to see the Doctor confused and lost. "Sorry? Did you, the 'Master of All Worlds' just say that you weren't going to cause any- anything bad? No more killing? No more torture?" His eyes widened. "They're gone, aren't they? The drums are gone."

He nodded slowly, still not breaking contact. "As soon as you shot the White-Point Star. It disappeared. I suppose I have to thank you for that." Almost unwillingly, he stepped closer to the Doctor, who still stared into his eyes, his face neutral. "Look at us now..." He whispered, standing so close to the Doctor they almost touched.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "You grew up with those drums... Like we grew up with each other."

The Master's eyes darkened. "My hearts will still be there to remind me... I never quite lost them."

His friend-turned-archenemy-turned-somewhat-friend gave a small smile. "Will you travel with me?"

The Master closed his eyes, finally breaking the stare. "I'll be prisoner, won't I? Even though I'm not going to start again..."

Warm hands wrapped around his own, bloody ones. The blood had dried, flaking off his skin. At first instinct, he wanted to pull away, but it'd been so long...

"No, not anymore..." The Doctor promised.

The Master opened his eyes. "And yet... You don't seem to trust me. I can see it in your eyes."

"Time Lords have their own natural mental shielding, you couldn't possibly have seen anything in my mind." The Doctor replied, sounding so Rani-like. The Doctor was brilliant, he was very clever.

"_Why should I study?" Theta asked. They were in the Library, well, one of them. It was very large, with hundreds of students pouring over books and studying hard to pass their final exam to become officially recognised as a Time Lord or Lady. Koschei sat opposite him, while Ushas sat beside him, reviewing her notes. _

"_What?" Ushas' voice should've rebounded around the Library for the entire room to hear, however each table was evelopped in a Silence Bubble. When sitting (or standing) inside of the bubble, no one outside could hear the occupants conversations, which was good. As educated and, mostly, polite the students were, hundreds of students whispering would be still very loud._

_Koschei paused, looking up from his text to stare at his friend in confusion. "Perhaps because you want to be known as a Time Lord?"_

"_Since you want to pass your exams?" Ushas suggested, looking a bit annoyed. "Honestly, Theta..."_

_Theta shrugged. "All of the Deca are smart," he started, "But it's either we get a desk job, or we become really important Chancellors or Lords. I don't want either of that."_

_Koschei and Ushas sighed simultaneously. "You want to travel," began Ushas. "We know," finished Koschei._

"_Yep," Ushas shuddered at the Gallifreyan's Earth slang. That trip to Earth did not satisfy Theta's curiosity at all, and they had landed during one of the planet's most controversial eras, the 21__st__ Century. "And you're both coming with me."_

_This was not new to the two others. Theta was always the most curious of the Deca, although Koschei and Ushas followed closely behind, although for different reasons. _

"_Temporarily, and only to find more of those minerals they had on Sol Three." Ushas pouted a little. She had tried to steal samples from a museum using a sonic knife, but Professor Borusa had found out and given her a weeks worth of detention._

"_Come on, Ushas, you could also think of it as educational. Actually seeing and talking to other species, wouldn't it be brilliant?" Theta leaned forward, eyes eager._

"_Could we return to the main subject, Theta? You have to pass you exams! Otherwise you'll get nowhere on Gallifrey, even with your father's reputation." Ushas said._

_Koschei sighed. Of course, Theta's father was very influential, very powerful, and very wealthy. Though he'd probably understand his son's ambitions to travel the Universe, he wouldn't agree to it. The First Law of the Time Lords was to not interfere with the events of the Universe._

"_I don't want to get stuck here, that's all. I'll apply for a TARDIS-"_

"_Which you need optimum grades for," Koschei interrupted. Normally, it was very rude, however as close as the three got, it was tolerated. _

"_And then we'll be off, sailing through the Universe." Theta continued as if he hadn't heard him._

_Ushas groaned. "You're not longer Time Children anymore. You're past your second century, it's not as simple as renting a... Bot? Boat?" _

_Koschei grinned. "So you did pay attention to the human speaker!"_

"_Shut up," she growled._

"_If I may interrupt this lovers' spat," Theta was smiling widely. Ushas hit his arm, while Koschei kicked him from under the table. Theta pouted._

"_We're not lovers, or a couple," they said in unison._

"_Mhmm..." Theta would never believe them, even if they married someone else._

"_Even so, you can not refuse to study and fail," Ushas continued._

_Theta leaned back in his seat, his chair tipping backwards precariously. Koschei began counting down in his head._

"_I know all this stuff, and you know I do." He said, somehow not sounding arrogant._

"_Chapter one-thousand and sixty-five point seven b, subsection g, sub-subsection e point three is what law?" Ushas asked. Koschei's head whirled as he continued counting down to the beat of the drums. When he was around Ushas and Theta, they were so much quieter. _

"_The Law of Substitution. Any Time Lord or Lady present for the election of the next Lord or Lady President who is accused of crime occurring then on one of the electives may use this law to become a candidate for election in place of aforementioned injured, regenerating or dead candidate." Theta answered, sounding somewhat bored._

_That started off a series of quizzes, in where Ushas asked question and Theta answered them flawlessly and efficiently._

_So it was a surprise when he failed his final exam, and redoing it with a barely passing fifty-one percent._

"_You did it on purpose!" Ushas exclaimed as she sat in the boys' dormitory._

_Theta shrugged, playing with some sort of cube he stole from their third trip to the Earth, this time to the twentieth century, during World War II. He spun parts of the cube, which were three by three grids on each side, with six different colours. Koschei assumed that the objective was to line up all the colours together._

"_I told you, I didn't want to become someone so important you can't walk two steps without someone bowing to you, or become someone so insignificant it'll be a miracle if anyone remembers my name." He said, his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he concentrated on the cube._

"_All your examiners were impressed," Koschei reported, having talked to Professor Borusa after the announced results. "They wanted to give you a triple-first," Theta groaned, "but they realised that if you did it on purpose, there must be a reason."_

"_In other words, they now think I'm some sort of prodigy," Theta said dully. _

"_There's nothing wrong with that, Theta Sigma!" Ushas reprimanded. Theta rolled onto his back, turning the cube this way and that._

"_I know, I know, dear Ushas, calm down. I'll be able to do something productive, now." He grinned and raised the cube for his friends to see. Every side was a different colour. "I got it!"_

The Master stared back into the Doctor's eyes. "And them? Amy and Rory?"

The Doctor closed his eyes briefly. "I left them, but they found me again..."

"Your humans, you imprint on them like baby chicks. Or did you imprint on them?" The Master grinned.

The Doctor hit him lightly, pulling his hands away. "Shut up, you know it's nothing like that." But they both knew he was lying.

The Master suddenly grabbed the lapels of the Doctor's jacket and pushed him against a wall, crashing their lips together, their minds connecting at the touch.

The Doctor's eyes widened as the Master's mind melded with his own. _Master_... The other Time Lord grinned into the kiss, hands pinning the Doctor against the wall, as the Doctor's hands wrapped around the back of the Master's head, pulling him closer.

_I'm so sorry, Theta._

_I know._

_Not like before, then?_

_Never like before._

**Okay... First attempt at slash... I had a fair amount of experience while role playing, but in real life... Err...**

**I was very tempted to have Amy and Rory walk in on them, and having them basically pull a Gwen in Torchwood.**

**(In case you don't watch Torchwood, Gwen, one of the members of Torchwood Three, accidentally walks in on Ianto [Another character, and Jack's main love interest] and Jack doing... extra-curricular activities...)**

**Anyway... Hope you liked it! Please review/favourite/whatever, just to show me you enjoyed the fic!**


End file.
